Swobo refreshes lineup with new 2014 bikes, Spreads the word with the Swobo Road Show

posted by Nick Burklow - January 15, 2014 - 5pm EST

Swobo came to life in 1992 selling clothing thanks to Tim Parr. Since its inception, the brand has changed ownership a couple times, passing through the hands of Santa Cruz in 2001, and in late 2011 landing with Fort Collins Bicycle Co. For the 2012 and 2013 model years, not much changed, but new designs were being worked on. With those new designs complete, and manufacturing well under way, Swobo is dropping their 2014 lineup now.

Swobo is sticking with the lifestyles brand image. They are keeping around what works, and adding in some new rides that should be a big hit. Staying are the Fillmore, Novak, Sanchez, and Folsom. New for 2014 are the Accomplice and the Mutineer. The Accomplice is a steel single speed urban assault rig, and the Mutineer is a 27.5” full rigid aluminum trail bike.

Roll past the break for a full breakdown of the new 2014 Swobo rides, plus details on the Swobo Road show that kicks off today.

The Accomplice:

This one is billed as “your partner in crime.” The geometry is the same as the super popular Sanchez, but with a bomber oriented build. The downtube gets a gusset for durability, and the frame was spread to accommodate 45mm tires.

In a departure from city bikes, Swobo is dropping a 27.5” single speed specific mountain bike. This 6061 aluminum frame is paired with a cool looking segmented fork. The geometry is suspension corrected for an 80mm travel fork should you choose to make the upgrade. The frame is also belt drive compatible. This bike has fun written all over it.

The build kit is rounded out by a BMX 3-piece crank with a 34t chainring, a 16t freewheel, Avid BB7 mechanical disc brakes, and 32h Alex rims laced to sealed bearing Novatech hubs wrapped in 27.5” x 2.2” Kenda Honey Badger tires. The cockpit is full Swobo parts, and the size range is Small, Medium, Large, and X-Large. The frame only comes in matte black, and MSRP is $999.

The Swobo Road Show:

The Swobo evangelists, El Jefe and Murph, are spreading the word across the land in their newly wrapped van complete with beer tap and keg. They will be hitting up Swobo dealers starting in Lincoln, NE and ending in Kansas City, MO. Each stop will be accompanied by beer and pizza for sharing. Make sure to stop by and check out the 2014 lineup in person. Keep an eye out on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for the hashtag #SWOBOroadSHOW as well.

Comments

Thumper McDonut - 01/15/14 - 6:09pm

I’m intrigued. Please tell me more about the ridges in the Mutineer, the “27.5″ full ridged aluminum trail bike”! Are they meant to enhance stiffness, or brush aside debris, or is it an ease of manufacturing thing? Is it perhaps also fully rigid? As in without suspension. Inquiring minds want to know!

The Heckleur - 01/15/14 - 6:14pm

if there’s one thing you need on a ridged bike, it’s good breaks.

mudrock - 01/15/14 - 8:50pm

TM, what r u talking about?

So, what’s segmented about the fork – the crown? And those skinny legs would wobble like crazy under hard breaking.

I still have some Swobo johnny royale shorts circa 2000 that are some of the best shorts I have ever owned. Still wear em.

Dave - 01/16/14 - 11:41am

These are nice looking bikes but I have a difficult time believing that customers will spend $799.00 for what is essentially a single speed with a flip flop hub. Even if it is a nice cro-mo frame.

I often wonder when companies release new product is it what the product managers and designers want to see customers riding or is it what customers are asking for.

Curious on how many of these bikes does SWOBO want and expect to sell?

Wilson - 01/16/14 - 5:25pm

I think with bikes as with many products, listed MSRP is best-case full margin. This is the problem with the IBD model versus what customers can get/expect with bikes online. We carried a brand called Big Shot: inexpensive, customizable fixed gear bikes but in the end, the customer could get cheaper direct because of their many sales. We dropped them. These bikes look good and the Mutineer looks nice. I do like the fack that they are trying to stay committed to bike shops. I thought they would go direct sales like a lot of smaller bike companies but so far not. Kudos for that.

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